Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Pearl Bailey

Artist: Pearl Bailey
LP: Naughty, But Nice!
Song: "Around the World With Me"
[ listen ]
Song: "Since I Became a Hussy For My Husband"
[ listen ]


Pearl Bailey started her show business career in the black nightclubs of Philadelphia in the 1930s. She performed for American servicemen during WWII and then went on to sing with Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington after the war. Pearlie Mae was named "Ambassador of Love" by President Nixon in 1970, she got her B.A in theology at Georgetown University in 1985 and she was a big fan of the New York Mets. She appeared in quite a few films and recorded lots of albums, including this one from 1960—one of several risque "songs for adults only" LPs she made in the 1950s and '60s. Pearl Bailey was evidently a Republican, but I would still love to have been chosen as her "traveling paramour"... though I'd probably have been a little too gay in Gay Paree and it's quite likely I'd have sagged in Saginaw too. You can read all about the life and career of Pearl Bailey and find her filmography and discography on Wikipedia here. There's a neat clip of Pearl appearing on an old Bob Hope-hosted variety show included below, along with the liner notes from "Naughty, But Nice!".

Pearl Bailey on YouTube:
[ "I'm Tired" ]

[ Pearl Bailey: March 29, 1918 — August 17, 1990 ]

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